The majority of vehicles when not in use are stored outside, exposed to the environment or in an unheated facility like a garage or carport. When stored in cold and inclement weather, the temperature of an automotive vehicle body approaches that of its surrounding environment. If a vehicle has been left in cold conditions for a length of time, the interior of the vehicle seat can become very cold. It can be very uncomfortable to sit in an automotive vehicle when the seats are cold. This is especially true if the vehicle seat occupant is wearing a coat which is waist length. A waist length coat does not provide any thermal protection for the buttocks and rear thigh region of a vehicle seat occupant. The coldness of the vehicle seat also in some instances can make it less compliant, thereby adding to the discomfort of a vehicle seat occupant. This is especially the case with vinyl covered seating. Furthermore, cold vehicle seats can also provide an environmental hazard. Unfortunately, many people are inspired to start their vehicles, turn on the heater, and allow the vehicle to idle until the vehicle interior and seats are comfortably warm before they drive the vehicle. The above-noted procedure leads to an increase of consumption of hydrocarbon fuel, as well as adding to the greenhouse gases which are generated in the atmosphere.
To avoid the discomforts and negative aspects of vehicle operation which are caused by cold vehicle seating, seat heaters have been provided. Seat heaters mainly have a configuration of a wire heater coil that is embedded within the vehicle seat. However, heater coils provide several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the wire heater coil of the seat heater is a major cost contributor to the heating system. A second major disadvantage is that the heater coil must be padded to prevent the heater coil from causing discomfort to the vehicle seat occupant. The discomfort is caused by the stiffness or rigidity of the heater coil. Padding causes the wire heater coil to be placed further away from the seat occupant The padding of the heater coil negatively affects heat transfer by increasing the thermal insulation between the wire heater coil and the seat occupant. Therefore, a wire heater coil having a greater heat generating capability or capacity than is actually needed typically must be specified to compensate for the insulation. Still another problem that the insulation contributes to is the decrease of the thermal to transfer rate. The thermal transfer rate is reflected in the time it takes the seat to heat up. Therefore, to have an appropriate thermal transfer rate, the wire heater coil heat generating capacity must be specified above what typically would be required if the wire heater coil was allowed to be in a location more adjacent to the vehicle seat occupant's body. Still another problem of wire heater coils is that it inhibits recycling of the surrounding foam rubber vehicle seat materials.